


schools are not the only places of learning

by scribblers



Category: Descendants (2015), The Isle of the Lost - Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Multi, unrequited love/crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-20
Updated: 2015-09-18
Packaged: 2018-04-16 09:17:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4619916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scribblers/pseuds/scribblers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a place like the Isle of the Lost, you learn a lot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. carlos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really know what this is but I guess there will be one of these for each of the Core Four.

In a place like the Isle of the Lost, you learn a lot. You learn to see the potential in broken things because every Saturday you have to hunt through the Auradonian garbage barges for anything that might be useful to you or to your mother. You learn to fix things without an instruction manual, because you don’t have a manual and you enjoy fixing things, plus how can you please, or maybe not please, but placate your mother if you can’t fix her things? You learn to be proud of your heritage, proud of the mother that scares you and hurts you and treats you like a dog, because if you’re not proud, then you’re ashamed, and shame is yet another weakness to add to your heavy load of them.

In a home like Hell Hall, you learn a lot. You learn to walk quickly and completely silently, no matter the shoes you wear, because you can’t disturb the most important resident in the house. You learn who that most important resident is, and that you will never, ever even begin to compare to her, because how can you? You learn that true friends can’t be real, because the only two people you consider your friends have nothing in common with you and don’t like to be around you and you don’t like to be around them in return and besides, they constantly abandon you to go kiss in corners. You learn to value anything and everything that you can call your own, because you have so little of these things, and you wonder if maybe that is why you love to invent new things, because those are more things that are your own.

With a mother like Cruella de Vil, you learn a lot. You learn that the titles _my baby,_ and _my love,_ and _my darling_ are never meant for you, another few things that aren’t yours in a house full of them. You learn that words are not the worst punishment you can receive the first time Cruella puts out her cigarette on your inner forearm. You learn not to make mistakes, and to hide them when you do, because every mistake means a new scar. You learn that love can cause only heartache when you find a little box filled to the brim with love letters that have the signatures torn off and the word ‘love’ violently crossed out any time it appears and your mother walks in and starts to scream about your father and her biggest mistake and you know that she means you and she drills the words _love is for the weak_ into your brain.

With a friend like Mal, you learn a lot. You learn to use spray paint without turning your skin very faintly purple for a week. You learn that the muscle your mother constantly reminds you that you don’t have is not what makes someone strong, because Mal is of average build and average muscular status and she is the strongest person you’ve ever met. You learn that you don’t have to have something in common with someone to be their friend, because you and Mal are almost nothing alike, and you’re better friends with her than you ever were with Harry or Jace or Reza. You learn to expect the unexpected, because Mal, the scariest kid on the Isle of the Lost, the girl that most adults are afraid of, is actually nice to you, actually wants to be good.

With a friend like Evie, you learn a lot. You learn that your hair would look better a bit longer, with a bit of gel, because she gives you fashion advice without sounding disgusted with how you currently look like your mother does. You learn that there are people out there who think that your inventions are cool, and that your intelligence doesn’t make you a target, but gives you an advantage. You learn that true friends _are_ real, because being around Evie is like nothing you’ve ever experienced before, because you can talk to her and laugh with her and even though you have to tell your mother she’s just a partner in crime, disposable, replaceable, you soon find yourself in a land of limitless pillows and of touch that isn’t a precursor to pain and you can tell people that she is your friend, maybe ( _maybe_ , you think in excitement,because now there are other people vying for the title) your best friend.

With a friend like Jay, you learn a lot. You learn to jump through windows and run over cobblestone in heavy boots as silently as you can walk, because Jay the master thief is the most graceful person you’ve ever met and he teaches you how to move better than you’ve ever been able to teach yourself. You learn how to wrestle in a way that won’t hurt, to fight in a way that isn’t mean-spirited, because you don’t want to take the admittedly small risk of damaging this friendship you’ve created. You learn what it feels like to have a crush, or you think that this is a crush, this fuzzy feeling you get whenever Jay steps into a room, this increase in heart rate whenever Jay smiles at you or laughs at your jokes. You learn what love feels or what you think love feels like, as you start to experience all of the above in a much more frequent and more intense manner, plus a slew of other feelings all in relation to the thief boy who steals everything he manages to get his hands on, including your heart. You learn that kissing is much better than Auradonian books and movies make it seem the day after the coronation when you and Jay walk into your dorm room and suddenly his lips are on yours and your chest wants to explode as all of the things you’ve been feeling swirl up, except much sweeter because you know that he feels it too.

In a place like Auradon, you learn a lot. You learn that your inventions are much more impressive than you thought they were when you show them to one of your new friends and he seems blown away. You learn to be a teenager, to go to parties and not do homework and talk about cute boys with Evie, because in Auradon you can afford to forego responsibility in favor of fun. You learn not to fear the word mother, because the woman who raised you on that island cannot touch you here. You learn that love cannot possibly be for the weak, because you love your friends so, so, so much, and standing next to them as the four of you face down a dragon together, you feel the strongest you’ve ever felt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [my tumblr](http://aquillandparchment.tumblr.com)


	2. evie

In a place like the Isle of the Lost, you learn a lot. You learn that you have to try, but not too hard, use makeup to make yourself beautiful, but at the same time be completely confident that you are the fairest of them all, show some skin to the garbage barge operators or the shady shop owners to get first pick or discounts or something of the sort, but not let word get around because how would that make your mother look? You learn that you have to be beautiful and threatening and villainous and perfect and everything that your mother once was without anyone guessing that it is not completely natural, that you are not everything that you are pretending to be.

In a home like the Castle-Across-the-Way, you learn a lot. You learn to walk in heels before you learn to walk without them. You learn to find your reflection in any surface that is even slightly shimmery, because you have to always look perfect, and besides, you want to be able to constantly see your own reflection, don’t you?  You learn the differences between your mother’s voice and the voice she uses when she thinks she’s talking to her Magic Mirror, and to avoid her whenever you hear the latter echoing across the spider-web-covered stone walls. You learn to… not sympathize with or feel bad for Rapunzel, because villains have no such emotions, but you learn what she must’ve felt like when you’re practically trapped in the castle for ten years because your mother refused to invite Maleficent’s daughter to your sixth birthday party.

With a mother like the Evil Queen, you learn a lot. You learn to use a makeup brush better than you can use a pen. You learn to sew beautiful dresses from the miserable scraps of fabric Auradon sends to the island, because how else will your mother get her clothes? You learn what length of skirt will get you a discount or a free cup of coffee and what will just get you groped at on the rare occasion your mother lets you leave the castle. You learn that you must always look perfect and that you must learn to cook and clean and work around the castle because no boy, and especially no prince, would want you for the intelligence that your mother constantly tells you that you lack. You learn that love should always be ignored in favor of practicality, that loving or not loving someone should be last on the list of things to consider before choosing a boyfriend or a husband because love is not important, money and power and big, undusty castles are important.

With a friend like Jay, you learn a lot. You learn that maybe some boys won’t care if you apply the perfect amount of blush or the exact right shade of lipstick, because when Jay shows up at the castle door the morning after your failed quest, and finds you having barely started applying your concealer he doesn’t even notice the difference. You learn to braid other people’s hair when Jay nervously comes up to you one day and asks you to fix his hair up like he’s seen you and Mal d0. You learn to trick and to lie and to steal without ever offering up your body like your mother always told you that you’d have to. You learn what it is to have a friendly argument, because you and Jay have quite a lot of those and yet there’s never any ill will towards the other, you can always joke about it afterwards, you always stay friends afterwards. You learn what falling in love looks like as you watch Jay fall hard for Carlos (and vice versa) and you think that that puppy dog look in Jay’s eyes, that excitement that seems to follow him around whenever Carlos is near him, that’s more beautiful than any perfect face of makeup could ever be.

With a friend like Carlos de Vil, you learn a lot. You learn that no matter how much you resented your mother, you were not even close to having been dealt the worst hand in life, because _dear God_ , Carlos has so many scars. You learn that some princes may not be born with royal status, but still embody every quality you believe a prince should possess, because Carlos is the closest thing t0 the princes that you’ve read about that you’ve ever encountered on the Isle. You learn that maybe you’re smarter than your mother always told you that you were when you start to help Carlos with his inventions and find that you can keep up with him, that with a small glance at the blueprints and instruction manuals Carlos has gotten from the garbage barges, you can understand what Carlos is saying when he explains how his little gadgets work, something Mal or Jay can never do. You learn what you think it must feel like to have a real friend, because you’re much happier giggling about boys and sneakily trying on Cruella’s furs and working on inventions with Carlos than you ever were learning makeup tips with your mom.

With a friend like Mal, you learn a lot. You learn that maybe grudges and arch-nemeses aren’t essential to being evil, because Mal forgives you and is still one of the evillest girls you know. (It turns out she’s not actually one of the evillest girls you know, but that’s another story.) You learn that a girl doesn’t need to have perfect makeup and wear perfectly fitting clothes and have a perfect body to be beautiful, because Mal is certainly the most beautiful girl you’ve ever seen. You learn that maybe you want a villain girl instead of a prince, because your heart beats harder around Mal then it ever has around the princes you’ve come to know in Auradon. You learn the feeling of true heartbreak, because the villain girl doesn’t want the princess, and then you learn how to heal your heart, because you still have an amazing friend that you don’t have to hold at arm’s length in fear of her discovering your feelings. You learn that romantic feelings come and go, but a friendship like yours and Mal’s can withstand all of that, and much, much more.

In a place like Auradon, you learn a lot. You learn that you are even smarter than Carlos showed you that you were, because even though you can’t use your magic mirror for answers you’re still at the top of almost all of your classes. You learn that princes aren’t all they’re cracked up to be (and that being a prince and being princely are even more different than Carlos had ever made you think) courtesy of one Chad Charming, but you also learn that that’s fine, that it’s better to be loyal and brave and trustworthy than to have loads of money or a castle with too many rooms to count. You learn that if you don’t look absolutely flawless, people will still think that you’re beautiful, will still want to be around you, will still think that you have worth. You learn that love should always come first when considering someone you’d want to spend any portion of your life with, because you love Auradon and all the friends you’ve made there and you love Jay and you love Carlos and you love Mal and that makes you much happier than anything else your mother has ever said mattered.


	3. jay

In a place like the Isle of the Lost, you learn a lot. You learn to always, always lock the door, because there are people on the island who will rob of you everything you own if you leave your guard down, people just like you. You learn that _whoever has the gold makes the rules_ , and that lurks in the back of your mind every time you’re standing anxiously outside Jafar’s Junk Shop with empty pockets, knowing what your father’s reaction will be if you walk in right this second, and so you walk away, hands buried in your pockets and eyes darting through the streets, hunting for any loose cloth, anything that shines, because you know what the rules at the shop are, you know what the rules on the Isle are, and you _definitely_ do notmake them. You learn to not consider anything yours, because, anything that you own, anything that you steal, anything that you value will be gone in a matter of minutes.

In a home like Jafar’s Junk Shop, you learn a lot. You learn to walk gracefully, light on your feet, even in the heavy, oversize, uncomfortable boots that your father deigns to give you, because you have to get around without knocking over any of the merchandise, and of course because if you’re light on your feet, your targets won’t hear you when you sneak up on them and snatch their belongings. You learn that stolen goods are not the only things that can be traded, can be sold and bought, because you watch again and again as your father counts coins gleaned from dealing out secrets or sex or reminders of other villains’ glory days. You learn to be quiet, to sit in the back room silently with nothing but a soggy, torn-up deck of cards for company, to stay as invisible as possible when you do leave the back room, because your father might have a customer, and if you disturb your father, he’ll be angry, and when Jafar is angry, he’s violent. (You have the bruises and scars to prove it.)

With a father like Jafar, you learn a lot. You learn ways to steal that have nothing to do with speed or agility or muscle or even intimidation as you watch your father whisper twisted words into ears, watch the subtlety and power of your father’s persuasion, and you shiver, because you think that maybe your father can convince _anyone_ to do _anything_ , and that scares you more than the crack of the Gastons’ knuckles or the silence of Mal’s footsteps ever has. You learn that words, these words that your father can craft together with such ease, can have a thousand different meanings, because sometimes when your father calls you a thief he’s somewhere around proud, and ~~often~~ sometimes he’s absolutely disgusted. You learn to dread the sound of your own name, because whenever your father says it, whenever your father calls for you, it’s only because he’s angry with you, because he’s disappointed in you, because you’ve _failed_.

With a friend like Evie, you learn a lot. You learn to braid your hair, which helps you _so much_ , and sometimes you wonder how you even managed to survive the summers before you met Evie. You learn to ask for things instead of just taking, because Evie doesn’t tolerate your “thief bullshit” and demands that you ask her to borrow hair elastics, to come into her home, to inspect the jewelry box that sits on her dresser, and soon it becomes habit around her and even around Carlos (not around Mal, but Mal is… Mal). You learn that a princess must act, because Evie acts the most like a princess out of anyone you’ve ever met, but you think that if all princesses are like Evie, you don’t understand the hatred for them, because Evie is tough and cunning and courageous and with the right outfit could pass for a pirate queen as much as an Auradonian princess, and you like her, not like you’ve learned to hate prissy princesses and weakling princes. You learn what it is to hug someone, to have someone take you into their arms and just hold you, warm and comforting and t _here_ , reassuring you and holding you close, as if they don’t want to lose you, because when Evie hugs you, you feel cared about, you feel _safe_.

With a friend like Mal, you learn a lot. You learn how to watch someone’s back in a fight, and the nervousness that comes along with it, constantly looking over your shoulder to make sure that yes, she’s there she’s fine she’s winning, but you also learn what it feels like to receive that kind of protection, because Mal protects you as much as your protect her, and that always makes you feel safer in a fight. You learn what it must feel like to be _understood_ , to have someone who knows what it is to be sent out day after day to fill up your parent’s pockets, to never live up to their expectations, and to be _so fucking angry_ at them, and to want to live up to those expectations, to want to be strong enough and mean enough and wicked enough and cunning enough. You learn what you think it must feel like to have an older sister, someone who will steal with you (sometimes from you) and trade with you and have your back in combat and tease you and… not care, because Mal doesn’t care about you and you don’t care about her, obviously, but she sees you as more than just a supplier, more than just another tool to get more gold, she sees you as a person, and she was the first one who ever did.

With a friend like Carlos de Vil, you learn a lot. You learn that maybe you aren’t so alone in your… not fear, because villains don’t feel anything close to fear, but your unease around your father when you have to resist making the same wonderstruck expression, although perhaps tinged with a bit of envy, at the sight of that single pillow that Evie had brought Carlos. You learn what it must feel like to love someone, because this feeling, this feeling of absolute joy and happiness you get when you see Carlos’s eyes light up at the mention of anything science-related, when he blushes at the slightest compliment, when he looks at you with this _heat_ behind his eyes, makes your chest feel like it’s about to burst with how much of this foreign emotion you feel. You learn what it feels like to care enough about doing something that you’re actually scared to mess it up when you start to think about confessing this maybe-love to Carlos, because _Jesus_ if you mess this up you’ll be miserable. You learn for the first time what is to value a _person_ , because in the past you’ve only valued _objects_ , and this time, the thing you value is not sold as soon as someone is willing to pay money for it, this time, you can keep it and press it to your chest and that first time, when you tell him through a kiss instead of through words and he _answers,_ you wonder how you have lived this long without telling Carlos de Vil that you love him.

In a place like Auradon, you learn a lot. You learn to forget to lock your door, because here no one would even think to rob you. You learn that you can _have_ things, things that are _yours_ , things that you can _keep,_ no catch, no danger of your father’s greedy hands and greedier pockets. You learn to not cringe when you hear your own name, to anticipate hearing it even, because here it’s always a pleasant sound, a hi from your teammates in the hallways, an annoyed yet affectionate groan from Mal, an excited shout from Evie, a laughter-filled exclamation or a breathless whisper or a really fucking hot moan from Carlos. You learn to care, to care about people and think of them as more than your next target, as more than a body draped in valuables, and it feels so much more rewarding, so much _better_ , than just counting everything you have to take, everything you have to bring home. You learn a new golden rule, a golden rule that everyone in Auradon just seems to _know_ already, a golden rule that seems to be the opposite of everything you’ve ever been told on the Isle, and somehow, this golden rule makes a lot more sense, and makes you much happier, than the one your father had drilled into your brain ever did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for Jay being slightly horny at the end there.

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](http://aquillandparchment.tumblr.com)
> 
>  
> 
> comments fuel my writing and my soul


End file.
